As we go deeper into the book of Deuteronomy, we get more understanding of the spiritual laws that affect our lives on this earth.

Sir Isaac Newton discovered the force of Gravity when an apple fell on his head. The Torah teaches us all the laws of the universe before waiting for things to happen. Late in his life, Newton studied Torah and Kabbalah to get to the deeper understanding of the way nature behave.

In Ekev, we get it strait forward. If we follow the laws, keep them and act upon them ( 7:12 ) ” וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם, אֹתָם “. God, will then keep the covenant that he promised to our fathers ” וְשָׁמַר יְקֵוָקֵ אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ, אֶת-הַבְּרִית וְאֶת-הַחֶסֶד, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע, לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ “.

The next verse (7:13) describes the blessings that are result of following the Laws,” וַאֲהֵבְךָ, וּבֵרַכְךָ וְהִרְבֶּךָ; וּבֵרַךְ פְּרִי-בִטְנְךָ וּפְרִי-אַדְמָתֶךָ דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ, שְׁגַר-אֲלָפֶיךָ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹת צֹאנֶךָ, עַל הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר-נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לָתֶת לָךְ “.” and He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, your corn and your wine and your oil, the increase of your kin and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore unto your fathers to give you “

The “Baal Haturim” (Rabbi Jacob ben Asher) , points to us that the first four words of the blessings (against the four letters name) begin with the letter ” וְ ” and ends with ” ךְ “, together they are ” כו ” = 26 = ” יְקֵוָקֵ “. All good comes from the Light of the Creator. He created the system of cause and effect for us. Those are the rules of the game. There is one way to reach the goal and it is by using the system created for us.

Recently, we moved to a new town and we purchased a GPS (Global Positioning System) for our family car to find our ways easily in the new place. It is very accurate system and without checking maps, you just enter the destination address, push Go and within seconds the system in pleasant voice guides you turn by turn to your destination. When you want to go home you push a button \’Go Home\’ and you are going back home the fastest route possible. If you miss a turn the system will recalculate the trip from your current position.

I realized that the more I use the GPS, the more I trust it. I stopped looking for road marks to find my way back or in case I want to come back to the same place.

I choose to trust the GPS system because it proved its accuracy and help. Day or night, the system does the job the same way.

In Vaetchanan we have the first sentence and first paragraph on the prayer of “Shema” ” שמע ישראל “, It has 42 words to connect to the act of creation and the name of 42 letters. In Ekev we have the next two paragraphs of this prayer. One has 72 words to connect us to the 72 names of G-d and the higher name of ” יוד־קי־ויו־קי ” and the other has 50 words to connect us to the level of Binah.

The last paragraph is found in Numbers 15:37 and it also has 72 words.

As we already know, the Shema prayer has 248 words (” רמח “) as in the number of body parts, to indicate completion and a close relation to us. It is also the number of precepts of actions ” עשה “. (The other 365 are of what not to do ” לא־תעשה “) (913 precepts = 248 for Body and 365 for days of the year but about the reason for that in another article B”H)

The essence of the cause and effect system is described in this prayer and in this parasha.

” And it shall come to pass, if you shall hear diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love G-d your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, ” Then heaven and earth will respond

Knowing is connecting and Kabbalah explains that Knowledge is the sefira that is created when Chokmah and Binah are connected. This happens in the higher consciousness and when the sefirah of Daat (Knowledge) created it allows the flow of energy from the upper to the lower 7 sefirot and makes things happen.

Know him in all your ways, means that we need to connect to the Light of the Creator before any action that we do. The consciousness must be there to allow the Light to flow. Then He (the Light) will direct our paths.

We live in darkness because we can not tell what would be the results of our actions. We make many decisions in life but we know well that what comes out is not always what we wanted.

To be certain that whatever happens is good for us, we need to connect to the Light and let him comes in. We can then be certain that even if we do not see the result we wish or expect (“… and lean not upon your own understanding “), we are still on the right path.

Put love and trust in G-d in every action you make. The work that we do should be done as if the G-d is watching you and waits for us to make the opening for him to come and guides us.

The Ari Hakadosh reveals us that Moses’s root soul came from the good side of ” הבל ” (Abel, the son of Adam) , which is the letter ” ה ” and Balaam came from the bad side, which is the letters ” בל “. They were both connected to the sefira of “דעת “, Moshe was connected to the side of holiness and Balaam to the negativity and impurity. They were both prophets.

Balak was a grand magician with deeper understanding and knowledge of the spiritual system. He knew what needed to be done in order to eliminate the growth of the Israelites and the threat to his position.

He knew that Balaam was at the same level of Moses from the negative side and that he could be the only one that can separate the connection of Moses and the Israelites to the Light from their root. That is by using the power of words. Not well equipped armies and no sophisticated weapons of mass destructions. Few well selected words by the right person could do the job.

The words come out of the mouth as “הבל “, “vapor” of the mouth. The Ari explains that Balaam, with his words and consciousness, wanted to connect Moses and himself together again (as they were in Abel) and let the evil side (Balaam) overcome the good (Moses).

Another connection to the name is in Numbers 23:20 ” הִנֵּה בָרֵךְ, לָקָחְתִּי; וּבֵרֵךְ, וְלֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנָּה “, the first letters of the first three words are spelled “הבל “, the Ari explains that this is where he wanted to take the good from Moses.

Bringing negativity on Moses would have caused him a disconnection from his higher root of the level of Daat “דעת “. This sefira is actually the result of the connection of Chokmah and Binah ( Aba and Ima or Supernal Father and Mother). As a connection to the Light for the whole nation of Yisrael, Balaam and Balak knew that if they were successful, it would be like a spiritual beheading for the Israelites.

Moses was already protected and Balaam was instructed by G-d to leave him and the nation alone. Balak did not let Balaam walk away. They continued with the plan and after the last attempt (Numbers 24:1-4); Balaam tried to ‘trick’ G-d by changing the method of his curse

“He went, not like the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness”

Then in Numbers 24:3 ” וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ, וַיֹּאמַר: נְאֻם בִּלְעָם בְּנוֹ בְעֹר, וּנְאֻם הַגֶּבֶר שְׁתֻם הָעָיִן ” ” And he took up his parable, and said: The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, and the saying of the man whose eye is opened”

In the Hebrew verse we see that there are four words that are missing the letter Vav “ו “. This letter represents the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin. That was Balaam’s preparation to cut the Light from the Israelites.

Those six words give us the power of protection. The sum of the first letter of each word adds up to 110 and that is equal to “נס “, “Miracle”. Also small Gimatria 11, which has the power of overcoming negativity.

Many use this blessing when they enter the synagogue to make a spiritual connection.

The word “מַה” (=45) itself represents the name of G-d at the level of Zeir Anpin, the letter “ו “of the Holy name.

The first word ” מַה “, in this parasha appears at the top of the column of the Torah scroll. The Torah is written on 248 columns of 42 rows each. Every column starts with the letter ” ו “, except for six places, beginning with the first letter and word of the Torah ” ב ” of ” בְּרֵאשִׁית “. The six letters are ” ביה־שמו”numerical value 363 ” המשיח ” = The Mashiach. Also same value as ” משה־חי “, Moses is alive.

Realizing his failure to disconnect the Light from the Top, Balaam suggested Balak that if they cannot stop the light from coming, they can try to drain it out using a connection to the Sixth Sefira of Yesod (the sex organs).

Balak sent beautiful women with magical powers to lure the leaders to connect with them.

The word ” לִזְנוֹת ” describes the spiritual process. The letter Lamed “ל ” connects to the upper three sefirot, it is built from ” ו ” and ” כ ” (together 26), the next two letters are ” זנ ” and it means “to feed” ” ו ” is the channel for Zeir Anpin and the sixth sefira of Yesod, ” ת ” is the last letter of the Alef-Bet, for Malchut. It this case the Malchut of the negative side.

On the surface Parashat Naso, looks like another boring story of counting and sacrifices but the Zohar gives this parasha a special value when the part of the Zohar that describe the great revelation of Torah Secrets, the Idra Rabba, is inserted inside the Zohar part of Naso.

Why the Idra Rabba is “hidden” in Naso? One can guess that the Torah secrets in this parasha are as great as the Idra Rabba. And maybe the Idra Rabba needs to be close to its seeds.

The parasha begins with the counting of the Leviim and description of their duties in the Holy. There are many uses of the root word “פקד”. The meaning is command or count and the deeper meaning is connection of the Light or more accurate connecting the Light and the Vessel.

Like when Yosef make his brothers promise him that when G-d will come to them and redeem them, they will take his bones with them. (Genesis 50:24)

We see the words שׂאוּ then נָשא then בְּהעלתְך. All words are with the meaning of elevation.

Also first parasha connects to Yisrael, second to Levi and third to the Kohen.

You immediately think of the Torah reading when we use Kohen Levi and Yisrael to connect to Zeir Anpin (The Torah) to draw the Light down to us. The Torah and Bamidbar especially, as it connect us to Zeir Anpin uses the vessels to elevate us from below, upward in the order of Yisrael, Levi and Kohen. The first letter of each “כ” “ל” “י” spelled out “כלי”, which means vessel.

The numerical value is 60 for the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin (Chessed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod and Yesod). The Light always needs a vessel to fulfill. No vessel no Light. Like the famous joke about a poor guy that was praying and crying to God to let him win the lottery to provide good education for his children. After a while the angels came to G-d and asked him “G-d, why you don’t let this honest and poor guy wins the lottery?” G-d replied “I want to let him win, but he doesn’t buy a ticket”.

The Parasha describes how the head of each tribe bring sacrifices to celebrate the completion of the Altar “מזבח”, one head of a tribe each day. The Tabernacle is the Vessel for the Light and was built by the people’s money and hands; the Altar is the point of connection to draw the light. “קרבן” from the root word “קרב”, which mean closer. The sacrifices connect us close to the Light.

When the Kohen bring the sacrifice to the Altar a fire descends from heaven and consumes it.

The title of a head of a tribe is in Hebrew “נְשִׂיא” from the same root of elevation. The sacrifices are exactly the same for each tribe. The reason is to create completeness and equality in the connection of the light to all Yisrael.

Baal Haturim, famous Torah commentator, explains that the numbers used 130, 70, 1 has different and important connection. 70 Shekel, “שקל” same value of 430 as “נפש” relates to 70 souls that came down to Egypt and also relates to the 70 nations. 130 relate to the years Adam was away from his wife, Eve and before Shet “שת” was born and created continuation in the world. 130 also equal 10 times “אחד” (one in Hebrew).

The sacrifices included all the types of sacrifices that can be brought to the Altar. For completion and unity as the head of the tribe represent all people. The twelve tribes connect us to the 12 months of the year.

This is the reason why we read about the sacrifices of the tribes on every day of Chanukah and at the beginning of the year, on the first 12 days of Nisan. On the 13th day of Nisan (13 = one = “אחד” = unity), we read from B’haalotcha the part that deals with the light of the Menorah).

The 12 tribes establish the connection (like hooking all the wires) and then the Light comes. The Menorah has seven carriers of light to connect us to the seven Sefirot of this world. (You can read more in the commentary to B’haalotcha.)

Everything in the Torah, every letter and every tag has perfect reason and meaning for it.

One interesting story in the parasha is of what happen if a man becomes jealous and suspect his wife of being unfaithful to him. The woman is brought to the Kohen and he uses a special process to reveal the truth. I want to point to the part of the process where the Kohen, writes some words and wash them with water to a vessel for the woman to drink. The water gets inside her and reveals the truth with a physical effect, her belly swell or she conceives seed.

The secrets of words and water

The Torah tells us the water can make physical change in our body. The water (H2O) was the first physical element in the world. Water has atomic weight of 10 (Hydrogen with atomic weight of 1 x 2 + Oxygen with 8). On 100 degrees Celsius water becomes vapor (energy). Water is also about 70 to 80 percent of our body weight.

Water is the most receptive element to meditation. It connects to the Light easily because of its status as the first created matter. It is fluid and can easily transform to vapor or solid. Water want to spread to any direction you let it go. Water seeks its own level.

We can influence the water’s inner structure with meditation. Many Kabbalaists used the power of water to transfer the energy of healing to people. The “Baba Sali” (Rabbi Yisrael Abu Chatzeira) of blessed memory was known to give blessed water to people.

We bless the water with “שהכל־נהיה־בדברו”, which means “that everything becomes in/with his words”. The blessing connects us to the power of creation and the inner structure of the water changes.

To explain “that everything becomes in/with his words”, I will suggest a little experiment. Say few words against your hand and feel the vapor coming out of it. It is a hot moist air. If you speak against a cold glass you can see how your words turn into water. Take this water and boil them and you have energy and solids in a form of stones. You may need to talk a lot to generate enough water to have visible stone but you can shorten the experiment by boiling a pot of tap water.

You may want to read again the above section about the water to let those thoughts and ideas sinks in and get deeper understanding of the serious power we have in our mouth even beyond creating physicality.

There were few scientific experiments that showed the different structure of the water before and after blessings. There is also a famous work of Dr. Masaru Emoto on the effect of words and consciousness on water. We bless drinks and foods to inject the energy of the light into the physical.

If you receive blessed water from a Kabbalist and you think that the water is still the same H2O without special value, then you are right because your consciousness can take away the positive energy from the water. It is known that students of great tzaddikim always seek piece from their bread or leftover food from their plate. This is because the power of the Tzaddik and his blessing over the food.

It is here because after the Tabernacle built and ready, The Altar completed, Yisrael, Levi and Kohen created the Vessel for the Light, the Light can come down to us. The Kohen is the channel for it.

The blessing has three verses that each begins with the letter “י”. The total number of words is 15. The total number of letters is 60. We know the significant of three verses is for the three columns and we know the “י” is for the first letter of the name and 15 words are for (“יה”). The 60 is for the power of creation (six days and six Sefirot of Z”A).

The verse that follows immediately after the blessing says:“וְשָׂמוּ אֶת-שְׁמִי, עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וַאֲנִי, אֲבָרְכֵם”“So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.’”

G-d makes it clear that to us that the Kohanim are just the channel. They will use the Holy name, represented with the letters “שְׁמִי’ and he will bless them.

A few words about the Idra Rabba.

The Idra Rabba is the gathering of the ten, Rabbi Shimon, his son, rabbi Elazar and the other eight great tzaddikim that study with Rabbi Shimon. In this part of the Zohar Rabbi Shimon and his students reveal great secrets about the spiritual system. It is coded in the unique way of the Zohar.

During the Idra three of them passed away because they elevated themselves so high to a point of closeness to the Shechina, where they could not go back. When studying they were hearing the sounds of the supernal angels gathered to listen to their study.

Their words were of so higher level that walls of fire surrounded them to protect and separate them from the regular existence.

Before they started, Rabbi Shimon directed them to their seats. Each one of them represented one of the ten Sefirot and together they created a complete vessel. They held hands and Rabbi Shimon said:

The essence of his words is that everything is depended on love. Love is Chessed as it said “־את־י ׳־אלהיךואהבת”. The first condition to connect to the Light is love.

This connects us to the blessing of the Kohanim that before the actual blessing they prepare themselves to their duty with the blessing:“בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בִּקְדֻשָּׁתוֹ שֶׁלְּאַהֲרוֹן, וְצִוָּנוּ לְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּאַהֲבָה”

When the Rabbi Shimon reveals secrets, he creates connection “קוים” (lines) to supernal powers. Imagine connecting a small electronic device to a great power source. The device could melt. The connection that Rabbi Shimon made (and still makes through the Zohar) affects reality.

Waves of love radiates from and through the Zohar. That is why it is hard for many people to connect to it. A person should have a great love to the Light to be able to enjoy the Zohar. The first step is to let the Zohar touch the soul and bring its light into us.

In Zohar Naso, Moshe Rabeinu, reveals himself to Rabbi Shimon and called in the Zohar as “רעיא־מהימנא” (the Faithful Shepard) said:

Moshe praises Rabbi Shimon and tells him that because of his writing of the Zohar, which is the Book of the Zohar, Yisrael will come out of exile with mercy.

In (Isaiah 11:1) the prophet describes the coming and the time of Mashiach. The paragraph ends (11:9) with“כִּי-מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ, דֵּעָה אֶת-יְקוָק, כַּמַּיִם, לַיָּם מְכַסִּים” “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G-d, as the waters cover the sea”

The reason for the coming of Mashiach is because the earth if full of“דֵּעָה אֶת-יְקוָק” = 506 = “אהבת־חנם” = love for no reason.

All we need is love. The Zohar and the Torah give it to us. Love is the Vessel where there is love, there is Light.

Today, the seventh of Sivan, is the Hillulah, Death Anniversary of the Baal Shem Tov. One of the famous Rabbis in the last 450 years. His soul was so high and it is said that such a soul comes to the world only once in a thousand years.

It is also said that he came to the world to wake up the soul of all Israelites. His father merited such a son because he went out of his way to help a stranger on Shabbat.A Kabbalaist ‘Maase Yechiel”, said that the Baal Shem Tov had the soul of Nefesh of Atziluth and the Holy Ari had his soul from Ruach of Atziluth. They both came to the world at the same period to create a bridge to the spiritual system that was lost because of the religiosity of people.

The existence of his and the Ari’s souls brought so much light to the world and Europe that, the whole world of that time came out of the dark ages. Art and science began to flourish in the world.

There are lots of information and stories about the Baal Shem Tov that you can easily find on the Internet but I wrote this piece to wake us all to the same consciousness that the Baal Shem Tov brought to the world. “Don’t just do it, put your soul and love in it”

The soul is our connection to the light. The deeper aspect of knowledge is connection. King David, whose death anniversary was yesterday, said in Psalms 3:6 “ בְּכָל-דְּרָכֶיךָ דָעֵהוּ וְהוּא, יְיַשֵּׁר אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ” “Know him in all your ways and he will direct your path” We should connect our soul to the light with all our actions then we can enjoy the guidance and blessings.

Today is the 40th day of the Omer. It brings us to the level of Hod of Yessod and it is important step in building the vessel to receive the light of Shavuot.

Hod of Yessod completes the vessel of Yessod and tomorrow, Yessod of Yessod is a level that give us easier connection to the supernal. It is a good day to read about Joseph from Zohar Miketz and also from other kabbalaists to draw extra light into our life.

There is a custom to eat dairy products because of the sharing energy. Also the word חלב which is milk in Hebrew has the numerical value of 40.

כִּי-לִי בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, עֲבָדִים–עֲבָדַי הֵם, אֲשֶׁר-הוֹצֵאתִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם: אֲנִי, יְקוָק אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
For me, the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Many people translate “the Children of Israel” to “The Jewish people”.

Please note that the word for Jewish, “יהודי” does not appear in the whole Torah. (It is found in the other two parts of the bible but as reference to individuals.)
Jacob is Israel (See Genesis 32:29) and his children are the twelve tribes. They came to the land of milk and honey, settled in and built the Holy Temple.

After the death of King Solomon, Rehoboam, his son causes a split in the nation. This situation allowed negativity to get in and brought the exile of the ten tribes, “The Lost Tribes”.

We know that the tribe of Yehuda supported Rehoboam, the king of Israel, the son of Solomon, the son of David.

A Jew, “יהודי”, connects to the tribe of Yehuda and to the line of David. Prophesies tells us about G-d’s promises to gather us from all the nations (Ezekiel 20:34). In Ezekiel 20:40 G-d says that in the Holy Mountain, all the house of Israel will serve G-d.
כִּי בְהַר-קָדְשִׁי בְּהַר מְרוֹם יִשְׂרָאֵל, נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְקוָק –שָׁם יַעַבְדֻנִי כָּל-בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כֻּלֹּה, בָּאָרֶץ:
שָׁם אֶרְצֵם–וְשָׁם אֶדְרוֹשׁ אֶת-תְּרוּמֹתֵיכֶם וְאֶת-רֵאשִׁית מַשְׂאוֹתֵיכֶם, בְּכָל-קָדְשֵׁיכֶם
The “children of Israel” refers to all the Tribes, including the lost ten. They could be your neighbors. If they were not born as Jewish, “יהודי”, it doesn’t mean that they are not from the house of Israel.

The root of the word redemption “גְּאֻלָּה” appears in this parasha more than in any others. It also guides us to be honest and support each other. The code of seven that repeats in the parasha, represent the final Shabbat, the elevation to the light of Binah. It will be when all Israel will be united in the Holy Mountain, “בהר” (=207= Light=”אור”).

Love your neighbor as yourself. He could be your brother, really your brother.

Behar

Those are the last two Parashot of the book of Vayikra. The book deals with the work of the Kohanim and the Levites. In Kabbalah, the five books are related to the five dimension of Bereshit=Keter and the tip of the letter Yod, Shemot=Chokmah of the letter Yod, VaYikra=Binah=the upper letter He, Bamidbar=Zeir Anpin=the letter Vav and Devarim=Malchut=the last letter He of the name.

In Bereshit we connected to the seed level of creation, in Shemot we connected to the names of G-d, the power, the miracle and the forces that rule our universe. In Vayikra we are connecting to the higher level of tools to draw the Light of the Creator to our dimension.

At the end of the book we are closing the connection to Binah level with a bridge of Behar and Bechokotai.

Behar (=207=Light=”אור”) talks about the seventh. The seventh is the Shabbat that we are connecting to the level of Binah. Every thing we want to connect to the light must go beyond the seventh. The Brit Milah is on the Eighth day, The Kidushin in the wedding ceremony starts with the Bride surrounding the Groom seven times then seven blessings (continues for seven days). A child born before the seventh month doesn’t have much chance to stay alive. Even the Tabernacle was initiated after the seventh day. The major concept here is to take what ever we start and let it develop through the seven levels of our world and go through a Shabbat in the process to connect to Binah. There are many such examples that you can find by yourself.

G-d is telling us on the second verse of the parasha that when we come to the land which he is giving us “וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ, שַׁבָּת לַיהוָה”, the land will rest, a Shabbat to G-d. Basically G-d is connecting the land to the level of Shabbat (Binah) “שַׁבָּת לַיהוָה”.

The rest are details about the process and how to connect the land to Binah. It includes the supernal level of Binah that comes after seven times seven, the fiftieth day is a total connection to Binah. The parasha ends with (Vayikra 26:2) “אֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ, וּמִקְדָּשִׁי תִּירָאוּ: אֲנִי, יְהוָה”, which again emphasize the importance of the connection to the seventh.

Bechokotai

The last parasha starts with a condition (26:3) “3. If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; 4 then I will give your rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.”

To understand what it means when the Torah uses the term “בְּחֻקֹּתַי”, “חוקים”,”משפטים” I will take you to the beginning of Sefer Yetzirah (by Avraham Avinu, the patriarch).

The first paragraph reads “בשלשים ושתים נתיבות פליאות חכמה חקק יה יהוק צבאות את עולמו בשלשה ספרים ספר וספר וסיפור” and it translates to “In two and thirty most occult and wonderful paths of wisdom did JAH the Lord of Hosts engrave his name: God of the armies of Israel. He created this universe by the three Sepharim, Number, Writing, and Speech.” The simple translation of “חקק” by the context is “engrave”. The Hebrew words read as “Law”. The 32 paths are the basis for all the laws of the universe. As you know the Torah begins with the letter Bet “ב” and ends with the letter lamed “ל” and together gives the value of 32.

G-d created for us a system of cause and effect “סיבה- ומסובב”. All is coded with the numbers “מיספרים”.

To make physical from spiritual, you need to create definition and limitations. Take for example, a thought that goes through your mind and if you want to express it you tell it or write it. Doing so puts limitation or puts border to the thought, it is transferred to the physical with limits. It no longer has the freedom that you have in your mind. A book “ספר” is a limited version of thoughts.

The last verse of the parasha and of the book of VaYikra is “אֵלֶּה הַמִּצְו‍ֹת, אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה–אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: בְּהַר, סִינָי.” “These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai.”

The reference is obvious to the Torah given on Mount Sinai. We always read this parasha before the holiday of Shavuot, when we receive the gift of the Bible.

Understanding the deeper meaning of the Laws of cause and effect described in the Torah, help us connect to the Light of the Creator ion a better way.

I almost forgot and I thank my friend Yehuda Z. for calling me with a question and reminded me about tonight.
Today (beginning night of 4/13/2010) is the death anniversary of a great kabbalist, Rabbi Chaim Vital.

The Holy Ari came to this world mostly to teach him the secrets of Kabbalah so he can put them in writing for future generations.
Light a candle, read Zohar and Kitvei Ari and connect to his soul and energy. Meditate to have your mind opento the wisdom of Kabbalah and Zohar.

Today it is very significant because Rabbi Chaim Vital passed away 390 years ago. 390 = (Shmayim) Heavens. also 10 times the YHV (of the spelled out Holy Name)

Read more about this Tzaddik;

Rabbi Chaim Vital

Born: Tzefat, Eretz Yisrael, 1543

Died: Damascus, Syria, 1620

Rabbi Chaim Vital was the closest disciple of the great 16th-century kabbalist, the Ari – Rabbi Itzchak Luria.

Rabbi Chaim Vital learned nigleh, the revealed aspects of the Torah, under the tzaddik Rabbi Moshe Alshich, who was also the one to ordain (semicha) him as a rabbi.

The Ari’s teachings were all given orally, and he himself wrote very little in print. His faithful disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital, recorded his master’s teachings in several books which have come down to us, generally known by the name Kitvei HaAri. Along with the Zohar, these books are considered to be the major source for kabbalistic study.

Rabbi Chaim Vital studied with The Ari for a period of less than two years (both men were in their 30’s !), until The Ari left the world. Yet the knowledge passed unto Rabbi Chaim Vital is vast and encompassing.

The Ari claimed that the soul of Rabbi Chaim Vital, was a very high soul, from the same root of soul of Rabbi Akiva and King Chizkiyahu , both the father (Rabbi Yosef Vital) and son (Rabbi Shmuel Vital) of Rabbi Chaim Vital were sparks of soul of the great Tana, rabbi Meir Baal HaNess. His son Rabbi Shmuel Vital was the one who put the finishing touches on the Eight Gates of Kitvei HaAri, and published them. Some other manuscripts (mainly Etz Chaim), Rabbi Chaim Vital wished not to published and took it to the grave with him.

Years later Rabbi Avraham Azulai and Rabbi Yaakov Tzemach dealt with Yichudim (special Kabbalistic meditations) and She’alot Chalom (dream meditation) until permission was granted to them by Rabbi Chaim Vital in a dream to dig at his gravesite and excavate those additional writings.

Rabbi Chayim Vital on the ARI…

” The Ari overflowed with Torah. He was thoroughly expert in Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud, Pilpul, Midrash, Agadah, Ma’aseh Bereshit and Ma’aseh Merkavah. He was expert in the language of trees, the language of birds, and the speech of angels. He could read faces in the manner outlined in the Zohar (2:74b). He could discern all that any individual had done, and could see what they would do in the future. He could read people’s thoughts, often before the thought even entered their mind. He knew future events, was aware of everything happening here on earth, and what was decreed in heaven. He knew the mysteries of gilgul [Reincarnation], who had been born previously, and who was here for the first time. He could look at a person and tell him how he was connected to the Supernal Man, and how he was related to Adam. He could read wondrous things [about people] in the light of a candle or in the flame of a fire. With his eyes he gazed and was able to see the souls of the righteous, both those who had died recently and those who had lived in ancient times. With these he studied the true mysteries. By a person’s scent he was able to know all that he had done, an ability that the Zohar attributes to the holy Yenuka [Child] (3:188a). It was as if all these mysteries were lying in his bosom, waiting to be activated whenever he desired. He did not have to mitboded [seclude himself] to seek them out. All this we saw with our own eyes. These are not things that we heard from others. They were wondrous things that had not been seen on earth since the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. None of this was attained through magic, heaven forbid. There is a strong prohibition against these arts. Instead, it came automatically, as a result of his saintliness and asceticism, after many years of study in both the ancient and the newer Kabbalistic texts. He then increased his piety, asceticism, purity and holiness until he reached a level where Eliyahu HaNavie (Elijah the prophet) would constantly reveal himself to him, speaking to him “mouth to mouth,” teaching him these mysteries. ”

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Rabbi Chaim Vital wrote Sha’arei Kedusha (Gates of Holiness) as a guide to achieving ruach ha-kodesh (divine inspiration) and nevuah (prophecy). The text (in its forth chapter) even teaches how to use the holy 72 names. Yet, the largest portion of the book is dedicated to the preparations for these holy acts. The lion’s share of this material is musar (ethics), teaching us how to rectify and elevate our midot (personalities). It is these teachings that have made Sha’arei Kedusha a classic in the yeshiva world. That forth chapter of Sha’arei Kedusha and other kabbalistic works attributed to Rabbi Chaim Vital, were published under the title Ktavim Chadashim L’Rabbi Chaim Vital (Hebrew), and Otzrot Chaim

Every natural event is significant with a message to all of us. Hurricanes Tsunamis and earthquakes are expressions of the divine system.

Recent earthquakes all over the world is a big “Wake up” call to us. The world can change in an instant and the soul must be strong.
Stay connected and read the Zohar daily. Elevate yourself beyond matter.

The Holiday of Purim is all about removing all negativity from the world.

Haman represents negativity created when the world was at the beginning.

Read or scan the following sections to connect to the seed of the negativity. Meditate to remove and correct this negativity. This is the power of Purim. When we read the Megilah (scroll) of Esther we are able to inject the cleansing power that bestowed on us on this day.

Bereshit 1 (Hasulam #228 in Hebrew and English Zohar)

If you have the Zohar Hasulam (Heb or Eng) then I suggest start reading from paragraph #218

This part is from Tikunei Zohar (Old page #55. Hasulam Tikkun 21 #320)